Wrotham Heath Golf Club

Played here on 12th October 2011 using a Groupon offer giving 2 rounds of golf plus bacon roll and coffee for £25. If you can find a better deal for that money, please let me know because I'll be there! We tee'd off at 0745, before the lounge was open but the coffee and bacon roll was held over until we finished without any question at all. The course itself is fantastic and is one of those that you want to play again because you want to use the knowledge that you gained on the first time out. Even though the greens had obviously been hollow tined in the recent past, they were green and ran exactly as you read them - if your putt doesn't go where you expected it then don't blame the green. The highlight is definitely the par 5 3rd - see the review below for the specifics, but it's a heck of a hole. I've played the Wentworth Edinburgh course and it has nothing to compare with this one. There are very few holes that don't have some sort of twist or danger in them leaving you with some very tricky decisions off the tee. Do you take the driver, try and hit long, but risk dropping off the side of the fairway & down a bank or straight into the trees? Or do you ignore the driver and use the 3 wood to try and put yourself in a good position for the second shot? I always went with the latter! Plus, no par 3 on the course is at all straight-forward. Gripes? Well, they're very minor. There were no course guides available in the Pro Shop and you really do need them the first time out. The course does use the practice of sending people out on both the 1st and 10th and, whilst I completely understand why they do this (and would do the same if I was fortunate enough to own a golf course), it is a little irritating to be the first people out on the course and then hit traffic at the 10th. Finally, the greenside bunkers are pretty vicious for the high handicapper - if you're up against the face then consider playing out backwards. But don't let any of the minuses take away from the fact that this is probably the best golf course in Kent that you've never heard of. If you get the chance to play it, then don't hesitate for a second and you definitely won't regret it. If you get the option between this course and one locally that you have heard of - play this one!

Ended up here by mistake, the course we were going to play had just hollotined it's greens and after 1 round we gave it best. We drove to wrotham heath thinking it was west malling on the map, no offence to west malling but very pleased we made the mistake. Fantastic course. I've played over 40 green fee rounds this year and this place is second. Complaints ? They added a second nine a little while ago apparently and for several holes it feels like it - the greens aren't quite where you feel they should be. I'm talking specifically about the holes bordering the road. The front nine is amazing, weird criss-cross of fairways with the 10th, then another open, heathy hole, then my contender for hole of the year - par 5 third. Tight, blind drive over a canyon to a marker post. Tight second along a razorback to another marker post and then you drop off the end of the world and have to stop your ball on the skinniest, rock hard green in kent. If you par it the first time you play it, you should give up your day job. I lost 2 balls and found 9.